Samaipata is a bit of an quiet village nestled in the hills with nice weather and that seemed to have attracted a sizeable community of europeans who live here. Well I suppose the presence of the foreign population just meant that prices in this little village were all jacked up and we had to find a reasonably pricy hostel to stay in (though it was really nice and friendly place). The village square had a few cafes and pubs where the backpackers hung about and We were pretty psyched to find a locally owned and run vegan spot selling pretty amazing empanadas and pastries at a reasonable price too! Sweet!

The claim to fame for this village was primarily the vicinity to a place called El Fuerte which seemed to be some sort of a sacred ground for thousands of years and multiple cultures who called this place home all the way till the spaniards showed up and made it into a military outpost. El Fuerte also seemed to be have been visited by one Erich Von Daniken (A space alien theory nut) who claimed that the spot was either an Alien landing strip or the entire hill was some sort of a fossilised spacecraft. Heh. Well what it meant in real terms was that it was a huge rock with carved runes all over by numerous cultures and a 50 Boliviano Entrance fee.

Well while we were here, we decided to do a few hikes around and one of the days we went and visited the El Fuerte too. The place was pretty nice, the air fresh and clear and the weather very agreeable. Not too hot nor too cold. It was fun hanging out and eating pastries from the vegan cafe. Krista had a contact from many months back and we managed to bump into him and chit chatted a while. he was a Motor cycle tourist and had been riding around the world since the early 90’s! Much Stories there!

We also took a little time to help the lady who was running the vegan cafe to help set up some accounts on sites where she could look for volunteers to help at her cafe. I hope things work out for her! Overall, it was a nice place to be and relaxing to walk about. We were pretty close to where Che Guevara was assassinated, but trying to navigate the routes here without my bike was a bit of a hassle as pretty much everyone was tuned into tourists and were eager to make a quick buck. I guess it’s better to avoid moving about too much and just explore the neighborhoods instead!

Pretty views of the Samaipata valley.

Pretty views of the Samaipata valley.

Interesting Stine carvings in the plaza at Samaipata

Interesting Stone carvings in the plaza at Samaipata

Interesting Stone carvings in the plaza at Samaipata

A beautiful day to hike about

The Sacred rock for numerous millenia, near Samaipata

Legend has it that water or blood flowed down these ruts during religious risuals.

Erich Von Daniken proposed that the ruts up there were used for Alien spaceship landings, heh.

Over the centuries numerous glyphs were carved into the rock.

Incan’s added some additional upgrades on the rock face.

More incan carvings.

Not much explanation was forthcoming on the details of the numerous carvings on the rock made over millenia.

The El Fuerte site had some stunning views for sure!

Cara de la Inca, a naturel rock formation looking like a human face.

Indeed was a stunning day to walk

Spotted these old houses comeletely taken over by the forest

Pretty flowers by the roadside

Likes this ancient pottery. Looked like the jar was fedup with whatever it was used for.